CORE--ANIMAL TRIALS FACILITY

本核心的总体目标是提供所需的实验动物和支持服务，以促进本申请中项目1-3中提出的艾滋病疫苗开发研究。这将包括提供来自耶基斯猕猴繁殖地的2-3岁无逆转录病毒（SIV, STLV-1， SRV）和无疱疹病毒b的恒河猴；用项目1和项目2中详述的疫苗载体对动物进行免疫接种；选定免疫动物的病毒挑战；对实验动物进行日常监测；定期对实验动物进行体检和采血，评估动物的临床和身体状况，为实验室评估提供标本（项目1-3）；CBCs的表现和流式细胞术评估以确定淋巴细胞亚群；实时RT-PCR测定免疫和攻毒动物血浆中的病毒载量；以及在研究过程中死亡或牺牲的所有实验动物的完整的大体和组织学评估。提供这些资源和支助服务将促进开发和测试作为候选艾滋病疫苗的活病毒载体，如本申请项目1-3所述。拟议的病毒学和临床病理学评估与免疫学核心研究相一致，将允许评估疫苗在载体复制、免疫原性和预防感染或修改攻毒后病毒载量或病毒设定点方面的功效。

The overall objectives for this Core are to provide the required experimental animals and support services needed to facilitate the AIDS vaccine development studies proposed in Projects 1-3 in this application. This will include provision of 2-3 year old retrovirus-free (SIV, STLV-1, SRV) and herpes virus B-free rhesus macaques from the Yerkes macaque breeding colonies; immunization of the animals with Vaccine Vectors as detailed in Projects 1 and 2; viral challenges of selected immunized animals; daily monitoring of the experimental animals; periodic physical examinations and blood collections from the experimental animals to assess the animals' clinical and physical condition and to provide specimens for laboratory evaluations (Projects 1-3); performance of CBCs and flow cytometry evaluations to determine lymphocyte subsets; real time RT-PCR determinations to evaluate viral load in the plasma of immunized and challenge animals; and the performance of complete gross and histologic evaluation of all experimental animals that die or that are sacrificed during the course of the study. Provision of these resources and support services will facilitate the development and testing of live viral vectors as candidate AIDS vaccines as described in Projects 1-3 of this application. The proposed virologic and clinicopathologic evaluations in concert with immunology core studies will allow assessment of vaccine efficacy with respect to vector replication, immunogenicity and prevention of infection or modification of post-challenge virus load or viral set point.